Military Review English Edition March-April 2014 | Page 63
Improving Leader Development
in the Operational Domain
Lt. Col. Kevin M. Kreie, U.S. Army
I
MAGINE HAVING TO CHOOSE a surgeon out of three available to perform a muchneeded procedure. The first surgeon just completed medical school but has not performed a surgical procedure since graduation. The second has performed many procedures
illegally but has never completed medical school. The third has completed medical school
and performed several procedures over ten years ago but has not practiced medicine since.
If you are thinking what I am thinking, the search is not over; a qualified surgeon has attended medical school, performed surgical procedures, and continued to improve his or her
craft.
This analogy illustrates the significance of each of the Army’s three learning domains to
effective leader development (see figure).1 To become effective leaders, individuals need
developmental activities in the institutional domain, the operational domain, and the selfdevelopment domain.
Lt. Col. Kevin M. Kreie is the leader development specialist for the Army’s Multi-Source Assessment and
Feedback program, Center for Army Leadership, Fort Leavenworth, Kan. He holds a B.A. in criminal justice
and an M.A. in theology. His deployments include Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom.
(U.S. Army)